Brine maker

Abstract

An improved brine maker includes a hopper having open upper and lower ends, a solids screen, and a receiving tank having an open upper end and closed lower end. The solids screen and receiving tank are pivotally secured to the hopper adjacent its lower end. The receiving tank and solids screen pivot freely and independently of the hopper to provide quick and easy access for cleaning and maintenance. Rotatable spray bars are positioned within the hopper to direct the dissolving fluid at the soluble material within the hopper. Spray holes having varying diameters and spaced relation to one another customize the fluid spray pattern for greater efficiency. A hydraulic assembly assists the operator throughout the cleaning and maintenance operations of the brine maker to reduce the time and manpower required.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION[0001]1. Field of the Invention[0002]This invention relates to devices for dissolving solid material into liquid and more particularly to a brine maker that can be efficiently operated, cleaned, and maintained.[0003]2. Description of the Prior Art[0004]Salt brine production systems, also known as brine makers, have been used for hundreds of years in many different industries and applications. For example, several state road departments spray liquids, including salt brine, onto road surfaces before winter storms. They also spray these liquids onto dry salt-sand mixtures just before the mixtures are spread onto the roadways. Both methods, if done properly, have proved to be successful in de-icing roads and preventing road surfaces from freezing in the first place.[0005]The general method for making salt brine has not changed over the years. In a downward flow brine maker, salt is loaded into a salt hopper, which is placed directly above a brine hopper. A sal...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0011]The brine maker of the present invention efficiently produces liquid compounds and is easy to clean and maintain. Salt is loaded into the salt hopper using a front end loader or similar machine. Fluid is provided to positionable spray bars, disposed within the salt hopper. As the fluid stream exits the spray bars and dissolves the salt, or other dissolva

Problems solved by technology

This basic brine maker design suffers from one key deficiency; clean-out is difficult and time-consuming.

The time and resources spent on cleaning the brine maker are costly and bothersome.

Many operators delay cleaning their brine makers because it takes too long and requires valuable resources.

However, when the brine makers are not regularly cleaned, the speed and efficiency of the brine production process is greatly reduced.

Clean-up at that point is made extremely difficult.

Accordingly, the operator must choose between the excessive time and work of cleaning the brine maker and reducing the speed and efficiency that they are capable of producing brine.

While this brine maker concept was an improvement over previous brine makers as far as clean-out is concerned, it still suffered from two key flaws.

First, the operator would have to disconnect the bucket from his front end loader before attaching the loader to the removable salt hopp

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